Empire haters need to calm the hell down about Jamal's gay sex scene

Julie Sprankles is a freelance writer living in the storied city of Charleston, SC. When she isn't slinging sass for SheKnows, she enjoys watching campy SyFy creature features (Pirahnaconda, anyone?), trolling the internet for dance work...

Hey, Empire trolls, your homophobia is showing

Empire is closing in on its second season finale and things are getting hot, hot, hot on Fox's hit series — especially when it comes to the beloved middle Lyon, Jamal. Before we go any further, though, consider this your official warning that there are spoilers about "The Lyon Who Cried Wolf" ahead.

If you did watch, you undoubtedly know that Jamal got it goin' in a recording studio with a newcomer to the Empire scene, a producer who goes by D-Major. What you may not know is that the scene made a whole bunch of haters feel some kind of uncomfortable.

If you're thinking that the straight men complaining about Jamal's intimate affairs are very likely the kind of men who take no issue with two women having sex onscreen, you'd probably be right.

While I understand that certain kinds of sex may not align with your own (or my own) personal preferences or subscribe to individual beliefs about what sex should or should not be, it's silly and pretty narrow-minded to expect sexuality to fit the narrow margin of whatever you think it is supposed to look like. Or I think it is supposed to look like, or what have you.

Yet, that's clearly exactly how some Empire viewers think.

Ok empire don't have to show us this gay shit must be for birdman or something #empire

ICYMI, bruhs, Empire is a show in which one of the main characters is gay. It should not come as any major surprise there may sometimes be gay sex scenes on the series. And, to be honest, I hate even having to qualify it as "gay" sex. Sex isn't "gay" sex to gay people, just like sex isn't "straight" sex to straight people. Sex is sex is sex.

Some like it gentle. Some like it rough. Some like is straight. Some like it fluid. There is no one right way to have sex and, if you think that's the case, well, you're probably doing it wrong.

If a particular type of sex scene bothers you so much, cover your eyes. Go fix yourself a sandwich. Do whatever you need to do for the tiny two or three minutes it takes for the show to imply what we don't ever actually even see.

Mind you, the scenes hinting at any intimacy between Jamal and D-Major accounted for mere moments of tonight's episode. Mind you, no one seems to think producers are trying to force a straight "agenda" on viewers when they portray a hetero couple kissing or being sexual.

It's all so subjective.

I'm a straight, cisgender, married woman — and I thought the scene between Jamal and D-Major was sexy as hell. If you didn't, that's cool, too. Whatever floats your boat, as they say. But don't condemn the show simply for highlighting something that happens organically all the time IRL.

I stumbled across an interview Empire showrunner Ilene Chaiken gave Variety about this apparently polarizing scene, and I can't stress enough how perfect I think her response is.

"We didn't view it as an issue we needed to take on," she replied when asked why it was important to tackle a topic that is taboo in the hip-hop world. "We looked at it as something that happens in the world and happens often. We've heard many, many stories. Jamal is obviously a wildly attractive guy who is going to be attractive to a lot of people, but is also probably lonely — it's hard as a star to really find love and find someone who can move in the same circles as you, and it's inevitable and it's bound to happen that those unexpected attractions are going to flare up. This is the first time we've told a story like that for Jamal. It's the beginning of an interesting story that we hope will have legs."

You hear that, haters? While this news comes as no shock to most of us, it looks like there are more steamy scenes between Jamal and D-Major in the near future. If you can't handle that, I suggest you go ahead and exit stage left.

Or, as my grandma would have said, "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya."